We’re proud to be ‘Good’ – CQC rates maternity care in Croydon
Our maternity services at Croydon University Hospital have been given an improved rating of ‘Good’ for safety following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
We are now rated good for maternity on every measure assessed by the CQC. The inspection rated the service ‘Good’ overall and ‘Good’ for being well-led. How effective, caring and responses services are, were not assessed and remain unchanged.
The overall rating for the hospital and for the Trust remains ‘Requires Improvement,’ and we continue to act on the CQC’s recommendations as part of our wider improvement plans by listening to our patients and staff to enhance our quality and care experience in Croydon.
The latest inspection is part of a national review to assess the quality of maternity care available in England.
Publishing it’s findings following a two-day inspection in December last year, the CQC found:
- Our maternity services at CUH had enough staff on each shift to care for women and their babies and keep them safe;
- Staff worked well together and had the right qualifications, skills, training and experience on each shift;
- We had dedicated teams and designated midwives who provide specialist support, supervision and training;
- Equipment and premises were kept visibly clean and infection risks at the hospital well controlled;
- There was 24-hour access to mental health liaison and a specialist perinatal mental health midwife if staff were concerned about a woman’s mental health;
- Staff spoke positively about the support they received from their managers; and
- Were passionate about their role and difference they made to the experiences of women and their families.
The CQC also found ‘Outstanding’ practice, praising the Trust’s HEARD (Health Equity and Racial Disparity in Maternity) campaign which launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to help raise awareness and tackle racial disparities and health inequalities for women from Black, Asian or any other minority ethnic groups.
Commenting on the report, our Chief Nurse Elaine Clancy, said:
“We are so very proud that the CQC has recognised the many changes we have made and found our maternity services to be safe and well-led. There were also some areas for improvement, many of which we are working to address. We’ve been rated ‘Good’ but we’re aiming high and will continue to strive for ‘Outstanding’ to ensure we provide the best care for women and their families in Croydon.
“Our midwives have the best jobs but also one of the hardest, caring for some of the most vulnerable in one of London’s largest and most diverse boroughs. Initiatives like the HEARD campaign, which the CQC found to be ‘Outstanding’, aims to breakdown barriers to make our care more inclusive of all.
“The care of our staff is also fundamentally important so we’re pleased the CQC saw staff at all levels who were passionate about their care, felt respected and valued in their roles and who work well as a team to share lessons learned and grow their skills and expertise to achieve their career aspirations and care for our community.”
The Trust will now act on the CQC’s findings, which identified some areas for development.
It was found that we did not always maintain and service equipment and we need to ensure that medicines are stored and managed appropriately. Another area of focus was to address the high vacancy and turnover rates in maternity staffing, an issue that is widespread across NHS in England.
The full inspection report is now available on the CQC’s website.